LA POSTE FRANCE on 13 April 1991 issued a First Day Cover stamp showing Le Noeud Noir (The Black Bow), a Conte Crayon illustration on laid paper, by pointillist Georges Seurat (1859-1891). A postmark with the artist's name "Seurat" forms this special franking for the FDC which was released from Mulhouse, France -- a city in eastern France near the borders of Switzerland and Germany. Shown here is the stamp affixed to a maxim card.
Le Noeud Noir belongs to a series of female silhouettes against a pale or greyish background, dated about 1882. The young woman in Le Noeud Noir "seems dreamy, lost in thought. She does not have the hieratic pose of the other characters. Instead, a subtle play of curves gives a gentle, flowing look to this apparently fragile body emerging from the shadow. But, in the end, it is the bow which commands the drawing. Its jagged outline, unlike the rest of her costume, and its deep black irresistibly draw the spectator's eye. Sharply outlined against a halo of light, this bow becomes the focal point of the entire composition." (excerpt from Musée d'Orsay, Paris)
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